“UNPRECEDENTED” cuts in Government funding are affecting real people across Plymouth, the leader of the city council has warned.

The council has been hit by a further cut in funding this year, and is heading for a £65million black hole by 2017 if nothing is done to curb spending and boost income.

Leader Tudor Evans faced questions from the Cooperative Scrutiny Board today, where he reiterated the council’s determination to cope with ever-reducing funds.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Evans said: “It won’t be long before the reduced government funding means we can only provide statutory services, which means things like job creation, culture and all the rest of it won’t be funded. These cuts are unprecedented, certainly since the war. Some people have said it pre-dates the war, that we have not seen cuts on this scale since the great depression.

“It is not only unprecedented, it’s also unfair. There are some parts of the country that have had far less cuts than Plymouth has.”

Finance officers are currently preparing the annual budget report, which will be presented to councillors in February.

Cllr Evans said: “We won’t be giving a big long list of £3.50 off this and £6 off that. But we are going to change the way we work, we will do even more with partnerships than we do at the moment.

“Levels of funding like this can’t be dealt with by moving a few bits and pieces around. We have to make decisions about what we are doing and what we’re not doing.”

He added: “We are taking more than our fair share of the Government’s austerity drive. But it’s not about the council, it’s about real people. It’s your schools, it’s your meals on wheels, it’s your reablement services, all being undermined and undercut.”

“We will protect job creation with what money we have, we will make sure some is available for that,” Cllr Evans said. “That’s fundamental to our business plan and fundamental to families and households, that there is work available.”

Councillor Ian Bowyer, Conservative group leader on Plymouth City Council, previously said the Labour administration must “face reality” and address the problem.

“It has taken 18 months of hesitant dithering but the council looks like it’s getting the message,” he said.

Last month more than 100 council staff were issued with redundancy notices as Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis announced an £8.5million, or 3.6per cent, cut in the city’s “spending power” from April 2014.

Champagne Socialist Tudor and his Motley Crew moaning again....Ask Mr Brent for the 2 million back. A gift that has yielded nothing to the City...Also stop telling Porkies and misleading people of the amount! ....You are raising exponential fees in fines, car parking, burial & cremation, planning charges, and most interestingly your favorite raiser Council tax....For every new house that comes online is a new revenue stream. You forget one thing thou you hit the poorest hardest with your blanket implementation of council placing hundreds of people in poverty & causing grief to many whom have recently been bereaved. Sorry Tudor Why may one ask did you hit the poorest...some have said because for every debtor forced to face the magistrates court you also raise more then £60 in Court fees opening up another revenue stream....Call me cynical but when you add up all the extra millions you are hitting everyone with in charges and fines the deficit will not actually be £65 million will it?

"It is not only unprecedented, it's also unfair. There are some parts of the country that have had far less cuts than Plymouth has."
Easy to work that out Tudor
Your Labour and Cameron aint
Get rid of all of you blood suckers

The only thing that is unprecedented is Tudor Evans' ability to create a massive bureaucracy filled with his cronies on six figure salaries and pensions_____Real people pay the bills - it's funny how austerity doesn't seem to descend upon Evans and his crowd.